Fate is Cruel
by LadyVixen911
Summary: It does not care about its victim's age nor whether they are innocent or guilty. Vongola Primo and his guardians learn this the hard way when the manor is attacked while they are away and their kids are caught in the line of fire. Au story containing 1st gen parents and 10th gen kids


WARNING: This story includes the violent death of children, blood and gore. You've been warned.

This is also a sort of AU reincarnation fic, in which it inculdes Tsuna and his Guardians(as well as my OC) are known by different names as the children of Primo and his own Guardians. (See description for a list of who's who and their ages)

It had been a regular day at the Vongola manor. Aside from the squabbling of his Famiglia, it was relatively quiet. Until the children raced through the manor.

The sound of a stampede could be heard as the various children ran, eager to play with their parents. Sophia was the first to reach her father's office door, jumping for the handle, not quite tall enough to reach it. Laughing joyfully, Masato raced passed her, easily reaching the door handle and slipping inside.

The male twin had reached his own father's door, and much like Sophia, couldn't quite reach it, his fingertips just barely brushing the knob. "Amato, here!" Without warning, his twin sister had wrapped her arms around his lower half and heaved him into the air. The little girl stumbled back a couple steps with the added weight. She struggled to gain her footing and reach the door without dropping her brother, who was flailing in his own attempt to regain his balance.

Sandro decided to give them a helping hand by steadying them, unknowingly sending the younger girl racing toward trying to catch herself, only to smack her brother's face into the door and her own into his legs. Looking confused, Sandro simply shrugged before barely beating Emilio into their respective father's rooms. By now Livio had caught up to his sister and easily grabbed the door, ushering her inside before closing it with a chuckle.

Dante waited, hand on the knob of his father's door. He watched the twins as the finally got the door open and proceeded to enter before he himself went inside. Nevio was the only one left outside(as usual). He didn't try and open the door like the other children, instead he simply sat down in front of the door and began to tear up before bawling.

"What are you all doing?" Giotto asked, staring at the two children who were huffing in puffing with the effort it had taken to get inside. Standing straight the duo replied, "Racing!" With big grins on their faces. Giotto shook his head lightly an amused smile on his face.

It was almost scary really, how much the nine children looked like their fathers. Amato was his carbon copy, just with brown hair and eyes. Ambra, on the other hand, had inherited her father's blond locks and orange eyes, though admittedly many shades lighter. Elena once said they matched the 'Amber Flush' rose(Giotto would never admit that he had no idea what they looked like).

It wasn't just his children either. The other seven resembled their fathers almost to a T, the biggest difference being the hair and eye color, with a few exceptions. Masato was an exact replica of his father, Livio shared his father's hair color, while his sister had his eye color.

"Papa!" Chirped Ambra. "Si, bella?" He asked, looking down at the two. "Here! We drew this!" She stated while her brother produced a picture from his pocket. "Oh? Grazie è molto buono." He praised while he looked it over. It was crude, with the sort of artistry displayed by every six year old. Despite that, Giotto could easily make out his Guardians and their children. "I'll treasure it." The blond smiled, placing the picture on his desk as he scooped down to pick the two up and kiss their cheeks, causing them to giggle.

Suddenly, Giotto gasped. "Oh no! Hold on you two! We're going for a ride!" He exclaimed as he pushed his chair out and used his foot to began spinning the chair. The kids' giggling quickly turned into squeals and shouts of laughter. Giotto soon joined in, and the trio were laughing and carrying on, Giotto spinning the chair faster and faster(keeping a tight hold on the kids, mind you).

Eventually they spun too fast, and Giotto flew out of the chair, landing on his back with the twins giggling and gasping for breath as they lay on the carpeted flooring.

"The hell are you doing Giotto?" A voice cut in. Giotto peered through double vision and nausea to see two G's standing in the doorway, Dante standing at his side. Asari walked in, chuckling at the scene with Masato trailing behind him. "I could hear the commotion from my office, is everything alright Giotto?" Asari asked. He smiled, watching as Masato hurried over to help the two up. Hearing a huff, the samurai's eyes followed the small silverette as he hurried over to help, the four of them then piling onto the couch to relax.

"Everything is fine Mia Famiglia." Giotto waved them off as he got to his feet. "I was just playing with mia bambini." G rolled his eyes at his friend and boss while Asari chuckled. "Oi, brats, let's get going, it's super-time." G called to the children.

As the group made their way into the hall, they were met with the other Guardians, Elena and their children. Sophia, ever the quiet type, left her older brother's side and weaved through the adults to reach Ambra. The two girls chatted amongst themselves, following Giotto into the dining hall.

Knuckle paused his story to Elena, looking down to see his white-haired boy(who had been conceived only a month prior to the man becoming a priest. The boy's mother left him on the doorstep of the manor when he was only a few days old), Sandro. "Livio and Emilio are extremely fighting!" He exclaimed, pointing backwards to where the two were having a shoving contest, which was quickly escalating into a small-scale battle. "That's enough! Family shouldn't extremely fight each other!" The priest bellowed, causing everyone to flinch before turning to look. "Livio, that's enough, come here." Elena scolded. Shooting her husband a look that said 'why didn't you stop him?' she ushered her son away from the older boy. Daemon was left shrugging his shoulders in a helpless gesture.

Dinner was the usual chaotic scene it had always been, amplified now with the chatter of the children.

"Dammit Nevio." Lampo muttered as the three year old once again tossed the pieces of food Lampo tried to feed him onto the floor. "Kufufu, I don't think he likes you, stupid noble." Livio chuckled, earning a stern look from his mother for the insult.

After dinner, the Guardians set about to finish the rest of their paperwork and cement plans for an upcoming attack on a rival Family.

Normally Giotto would ignore any sort of threat directed at him, after all, he got dozens on an almost daily basis. The problem, however, was that this family was causing problems for one of the main towns under Vongola protection. Giotto couldn't let this slide, and as much as he hated to, he would have to make an example out of this group of men; no survivors.

"Zio Giotto, can we play outside?" Dante asked, almost bouncing in his seat. As much as the boy acted like an adult, he was still, in fact, a child. "I don't know Dante, it could be dangerous out there." "I don't think so Dante, your Zios and Papa have to get to work." "Awwwwww!" All the children whined, clearly looking disappointed as the servers cleared the table, amused looks on their faces.

"It might be alright Giotto," Lampo stated, gaining his boss's attention before going on, "if the older kids go with them." With this, all eyes fell on Sandro, Livio and Emilio. Sophia began tugging on her brother's sleeve, imploring him to go out and play. "Fine, but only because you want to play." He stated, crossing his arms. "I'll extremely go out and play!" The only hold-out had all eyes turned on him, and refused to meet anyone's gaze. "Please Emilio?" "No." "Pretty please?" Ambra tried. "No." "Kufufufu, forget it everyone, Emilio's just scared of being outside." Livio taunted. There was a scowl on the raven haired boy's face before he roughly slid the chair out from the table and stalked towards the backyard. Cheers erupted from the children as they hurried to get out of their seats and follow.

"Thank you Livio." Elena stated with a smile. She knew her child had done it on purpose. By suggesting he was scared of going outside, Emilio would naturally want to prove him wrong by doing just what he'd been accused of being afraid of. "I didn't do it for them." The boy huffed, but the other adults new better.

As much as Livio protested going along with their antics, and as much as he tried to disassociate with the other kids, he cared for them. Emilio was the same, he was simply too stubborn and proud to admit it. Even Dante, who seemed annoyed with the majority of the children most of the time, truly loved them when it came down to it.

"Well then," Giotto sighed as he rose from his chair. "'Scuse me." Looking down, Lampo found Ambra and Sophia standing there. "What is it, fiorellini?" "Can we take Nevio with us? Lampo blinked in surprise shocked that the two would want to play with him. "Let me down papa! Nevio want to play!" The toddler stated, struggling to get free. "Ok, ok, keep your pants on. I mean it this time." Lampo stated, putting the toddler on the ground and watching as the two girls grabbed his hands and practically drug the youngest child down the hallway.

"Hey, let's play tag!" Masato suggested. He was met with various agreements(or in Livio and Emilio's case, not objection). "Ready, go!" They stated, darting away from Sandro, who was deemed it. "Hey! Extremely unfair, get back here!" He shouted, chasing after Amato. The brunette shrieked and began to run as if his life depended on it. In reality it kinda did. Sandro, in all his excitement and 'extremeness' often ended up hurting the others on accident.

With his eyes on another target, the others decided it was safe to stop. That's what Sandro wanted. When their guards' were down, he made a sharp turn, aiming for Dante. Naturally, in his haste, he missed the green eyed boy's arm, and ended up slamming his palm into the younger's face. "Dammit!" Dante screeched as he flew onto his rear, hands immediately flying up to hold his face.

Shocked faces all around as the children rushed to his side, Sandro already spewing apologies. "Are you okay?!" The twins chorused to the fallen boy. Tentatively pulling one hand away, t hen the other, Dante was relieved to see his hands were clean of blood. Gently prodding his nose, he winced in pain, but was glad to see that it hadn't been broken.

"We should probably play something else." Amato suggested, thinking this game would quickly get even more out of hand. "Ragazzi, let's go play in the pool!" His sorella suggested. The 'pool' was really only a square fountain in the middle of a flower maze, with various jets spraying water into the air in different styles. It was only three feet deep, which was perfect for the children to swim in without fear of drowning. Without waiting to see if everyone else agreed, Masato had already taken off, Ambra not far behind. It was no surprise that those two were so happy about the suggestion. Having the rain flame like his father, Masato loved the water, and Ambra simply loved swimming. Amato simply shrugged before taking off after them, the rapid footsteps of the others telling him the other children were following.

Their shouts, squeals and laughter rang throughout the backyard as they raced through the maze, each wanting to be first to reach the water. "Oi!" Livio stated, annoyed as he saw Sandro literally crashing through the walls of flowers to reach the pool at the center. "Don't cheat." He stated, conjuring an illusion and causing him to trip over a bench that Livio had made to look like another wall.

The girls were in the lead as far as they could tell. "Shh!" Sophia stated to a giggling Ambra, the violet eyed girl trying to stifle her own giggles. "We're gonna win!" Ambra stated as they raced through the maze, taking turn after turn.

Ambra had come across the other girl and deciding to do like most of the others had, teamed up.

"They're heading for the fountain." Daemon stated. The adults had taken a break from their work and had been watching the children. G had winced when Sandro slammed into his boy earlier. "I'm surprised you didn't head down there G, Knuckle was ready to jump off the balcony." Asari chuckled. G scoffed, "My kid should be able to handle that." "They're going to grow up to be strong Giotto." Knuckle stated. "You're right, possibly even stronger than us."

The children played in the water until long after the sun had set, the warm Italian summer air preventing them from getting cold even though they were soaked from head to toe. "Young masters, young misses!" Cried one of their nannies as she and the others came upon them. Amato and Masato were wrestling in the water, Dante and Ambra kept submerging themselves underwater seeing who could hold their breath longer, Sophia was doing flips under the water, Livio was slowly dragging Nevio through the water as the youngest slowly learned how to swim, and Sandro and Emilio were splashing each other, the other outwardly enjoying it more.

"Come now young masters and misses, we must get you all cleaned up and changed, your fathers are leaving on business later." Informed one of the women as she picked up a complaining Dante.

One by one the children were gathered and brought inside. While most of the others complained, none noticed how silent the twins had gotten.

Getting them all dried hadn't taken much time, ten minutes at best, it was getting them all dressed that took over half an hour. Most of them complied and were dressed in a matter of minutes. The problem lay with Nevio, who was throwing a fit about not wanting to go to bed yet; Livio, who didn't like being told what to do by these women simply because they were children; Sandro would simply couldn't sit still long enough; and Emilio, who simply glared at them, refusing to be treated like a child.

Eventually though they cracked, and all nine children were dressed and huddled fast asleep on a sofa while they waited for their father's to finish their work before bidding them goodnight.

"Alright. Everyone understand the plan?" Giotto asked as he looked up from the map he'd spread across his desk. Each guardian met his eyes and nodded in confirmation that they understood. "Good. We'll head out after we see our children to bed." Giotto stated as he folded the map back up. "We'll have the perfect cover too, it's about to storm." Lampo stated as he looked out the giant windows situated behind the Sky's desk. Turning, the blond saw the dark clouds roll in as the wind picked up. "This is indeed an advantage. Still, I would rather get there before the heavy storm comes."

Opening the door, G stepped aside and allowed his friend through the door first before following him to the common room where they knew the kids were waiting.

Sure enough, as they cracked the door open, they spotted the pile of bodies all clustered together, fast asleep. The guardians had never seen anything so cute.

"Hey you two." Giotto called softly to his twins as he knelt in front of them. Slowly their eyes opened, brown and orange orbs peering into his own blue ones. "Come on, time for bed." He muttered as he scooped them into his arms. They snuggled into his chest as he stood, leaving the room and walking down the corridor to their shared room.

"Papa?" Amato asked as Primo set them in their bed, slowly pulling the covers up. "Si?" He asked. "Please don't go Papa." Ambra finished, fisting the blanket in her hands. "Oh bambini, you know I wouldn't if I didn't have to." "I have a headache." Ambra whined, leaning forward and reaching for a hug from the older male. "I do too." Her twin stated. "Oh bambini." Giotto repeatedly with a sigh, sitting on the edge of the bed and bringing the duo into his arms as they sniffled, miserable.

"I know. Headaches are no fun for anyone." He stated, slowly rocking to help comfort the two. "Come on now. You should try to sleep, that way the pain will stop. By the time you wake up tomorrow I'll be back home and we'll go to the park. How's that sound, hm?" He asked smiling softly. "But, I don't want you to go." Amato stated, his grip on his father tightening somewhat. "Now Amato, you know Papa hates leaving you, especially for work. You also know that I never leave unless I have to." "But what if something happens?" Giotto shook his head softly. He loved his children, he truly did, but sometimes they could be such worrisome things.

This was not the first time they'd had conversations like this. They were always scared he or one of their uncles wouldn't return, or they'd be hurt or something of the like. Giotto always had to assure them that he and their uncles were adults and could handle themselves.

"Alright, how about this?" He asked, watching as their interest peaked. "Once Papa and your zios get done with work later tonight, I'll come and wake you up, and we can all sleep in Papa's bed, deal?" "Deal!" They chorused, beaming smiles on their faces. "Okay." Giotto smiled, watching as they laid back and allowed him to tuck them in. "Try to get some sleep so your headaches will go away." He said softly, kissing their heads before turning to leave. "Papa?" Giotto paused, turning to look over his shoulder at them. They squirmed in bed, wanting to ask him something else, but clearly worried they would annoy him if they kept holding it up.

"What is it?" "Um...C-Could you, could you read us a story?" Amato asked. Oh, so /that/ was what they wanted. Letting out a soft laugh, Giotto headed towards their bookshelf. "Alright, which one?" "Oh oh oh! 'How Cats Got their Purr!'" Ambra exclaimed happily. Looking as his son, Giotto saw no objection and grabbed the collection of fairytales the story was found in. While typically his son enjoyed more adventure-type fairy-tales, as most boys did, he loved just about any story with cats. Both of his children seemed to be head over heels for the feline populace.

Giotto would never tell them, but he actually planned on getting them each a cat for their upcoming birthdays in a few months.

"Alright, scoot over you two." Quickly doing as he said, their eyes were glued to him as he settled onto the bed, unbridled joy reflecting in their innocent eyes. Opening the book, Vongola's leader quickly flipped through it until he got to the story he was looking for.

"There once was a king and queen who longed for a baby daughter. Finally, just as they were giving up hope, the queen bore a girl child and the king and queen were the happiest people on earth..." Halfway through the story, Giotto noticed they had fallen asleep, but nonetheless he continued reading to the end. It wasn't uncommon for one of the two to wake up if he stopped before they were in a deep sleep. Smiling at them, he closed the book and set it on the end table beside their bed before slowly getting off the bed. Blowing out the candle, he crept to the door and snuck out, softly closing it behind him. Looking up and down the hallway showed his own friends just finishing telling their own offspring goodbye. Good. He hadn't made them wait then.

"Let's hurry to get ready. The sooner we head out the sooner we're back home." Silent nods were the only responses as they headed down the halls to their respective suites.

Practiced speed and swiftness was what allowed the men to disrobe before putting on their suits properly in record time. Checking his pocket watch, Giotto didn't even bother to look behind him to know that his friends were behind him, armed with their weapons of choice. Snapping the watch shut and placing it in his pocket, he slipped his gloves on before making their way out front where horses were waiting for them.

Mounting his, Giotto didn't bother checking if they were following him before he snapped the reins and drove his horse towards their destination. They would catch up, they always did.

Giotto was bent over panting, the flame on his forehead and gloves flickering before slowly fading, returning his blazing orange eyes to their original blue. The Don had been dealt with, laying a few feet away with blood pooling rapidly around him, mixing with the rain that pummeled the ground.

As he calmed from his adrenaline high, the crackling of fire and the popping of wood caught his attention, causing him to turn towards where the former Don's manor had been. The structure would burn for a good few hours before finally dying under the unrelenting rain.

Raising a hand to his head, Giotto rubbed his temples. His head had been killing him since the battle started. He had attributed his Hyper Intuition as being due to the battle, but it was still pounding away at his skull. Worry began to sprout inside the young boss. Raising his pointer and thumb to his lips, he gave a sharp whistle, calling out to both his guardians and his horse.

He hadn't needed to wait long: five minutes tops, before the pounding of hooves alerted him to his Famiglia's approach, and another thirty seconds before they entered the clearing he was in(it had been densely forested until the start of his battle with the enemy).

Quickly scanning the other males, he deduced that though they were injured, that was not what his intuition was screaming about. Quickly taking the reins from Alaude, Giotto mounted the horse and with a snap of the reins, the horse was speeding towards home.

The others were quick to follow, not understanding what was going on. Repeatedly snapping the reins of his own horse, Alaude was quick to catch up to their boss. "What the hell is going on?" He demanded. "Something's wrong!" Giotto exclaimed over the roar of the wind and rain and the booming thunder. "Where?" Alaude questioned, not liking the conclusion everything was adding up to. Giving him a pointed glare, Giotto snapped his reins once more and with a yell, his horse once again sped up.

Before long, the seven men were at full gallop, the giant beasts flying over the terrain with ease, hindered minutely by the water on the ground and the rain that kept adding to it. The Vongola boss new he should slow his steed down, and that if he kept the animal as their current pace the beast was likely to keel over once they stopped.

Compassionate as he was, Giotto found he couldn't care less at the moment, focused only on the building slowly coming into view.

The male kept urging his horse faster to no avail. Once they hit the cobblestone of the massive driveway, he abruptly halted his horse, not waiting for it to stop skidding across the stones before he dismounted.

Seeing the door ajar had him running inside, gloves being put on. Giotto could feel his six guardians cautiously bring up the rear, ready for anything to happen.

Slowly they made their way through the manor, fighting back every paternal urge to run through their home shouting for their kids. "We have a problem." Daemon stated, staring down at the body of one of the children's nannies. She had no defensive wounds, meaning she hadn't been expecting the blow.

"Let's go." Their boss ordered, tearing through the manor with reckless abandon. Reaching the appropriate hall, his guardians passed him, going to the doors of their children's bedrooms. Giotto flung the door open, only to be met with two bodies. One male, the other female.

The blond shook his head sadly, the woman had been Ambra and Amato's personal nanny, and the other had been the attacker she felled. Clearly though, the damage she'd received had been too great.

"Amato? Ambra? Where are you?" Vongola Primo exclaimed. "None of the kids are in their rooms." G stated as his boss exited the room. "Ok, let's head to the escape route in common room. They'd have gone there once the women got them up." A collective nod was his only response before they took off down the hall to towards the aforementioned room.

Giotto had demanded it be installed upon Emilio's birth, just in case there was ever a time the children(none born yet save for the mini cloud) should need to escape if their parents were not present.

There! The male's feet carried him closer with each step, his focus completely on the room ahead of head.

A sharp gasp had him skidding to a stop. He and the others turned to see Lampo stopped in front of the door to the room right before the common room. It was a smallish room the Guardians used for entertaining guests. "Lampo?" Giotto asked, receiving no reply.

The green haired man dropped to his knees almost as if he'd been kicked. Reaching just inside the door with shaky hands, he let out a sob as he slowly pulled them back. "My God..." Knuckle breathed.

Cradled in the weeping man's arms was Nevio. The little boy hadn't even a chance to defend himself. A single gunshot to the back of his head and it was over.

Giotto swallowed around the lump in his throat as his Hyper Intuition told him to just turn around, he didn't want to see what was in that room. Slowly, fearfully, the Sky made his way to Lampo and rest his palm against the door, too terrified to push it open.

Alaude did it for him, and Giotto cast his cloud a grateful smile before stepping into the room, followed by his other guardians. "Sophia!" Daemon exclaimed, rushing over to cradle his daughter. They hadn't been as merciful as they were with Nevio. Sophia had put up a fight, and the attacker fought back.

Slowly, Giotto took in the scene before him. Bodies lay everywhere, and he was noticing with a growing lump in his throat that they were both the enemy and Vongola's children. He gazed sadly at his brothers as they discovered their children dead. Giotto soon spotted his own, in the farthest corner of the room.

On auto-pilot he maneuvered around the bodies and swallowed the lump as he saw that both children were surely dead. There were devastating burns to Amato's hands, and Ambra had a pool of dried blood surrounding her. What broke the twins' father was the positions of their hands. Even dying, they had reached for each other. With their final breaths, they lay with their fingers just barely interlocked. Giotto dropped, letting the tears fall as he stroked their heads.

"Daemon." He croaked. He needn't say anything else, his Mist understood. He wanted-needed to see how this catastrophe happened. Using every piece of willpower Giotto could muster, he light his sky flame. He knew when Daemon lit his own, because suddenly they were no longer in that nightmarish room, but in the twins' bedroom.

Amato and Ambra were sleeping deeply, if not a bit unrestful, as the storm raged outside. With a particularly loud clap of thunder, they jolted awake. Whimpered came from their throats as the clutched at their heads. They heard their door open and turned to see Masato standing in the doorway. "You can't sleep either?" The twins shook their heads in answer.

"Good. At least it's not just me then." He laughed before coming farther into the room and crawling into bed, he placed his sword against the side of the bed, his father having always told him to carry it when he wasn't around. "What're you doing here stupid?" Dante called from the doorway. "Hm? Same as you, I got scared." He chirped. "I wasn't scared idiota! I Just came to see if Principessa and Secondo* were alright." "Come join us Dante." Ambra stated as she patted the spot beside her. Both she and her twin had forgone their headaches for the time being.

Doing as she requested, he crawled into the giant bed and settled in beside her. The four of them chatted quietly, fearful of being caught by their nannies. It was a while longer when another loud crack of thunder had them all jumping.

Minutes passed as they got their heart rates under control. Soon the sound of grunting could be heard at regular intervals. "What are you all doing up?!" The loud voice had them jumping and whipping their heads to stare at Sandro, who now stood in the doorway. "It's extremely late!" "Shhhhh! Do you want us to get caught?!" Dante whisper-shouted at him. Frowning a bit, Sandro came into the room, bending over to pick up Nevio, who everyone then figured was the cause of all the noise.

"'Bout time someone saw me." He pouted while crossing his arms. "Why are you even here? You should have just stayed in your own room you useless idiot!" Dante snarled. "Nevio doesn't have to listen to you!" The three year old stated, pulling down his eyelid and sticking his tongue out. "Why you little-!" Dante started, ready to strangle the youngest child.

"Are we having a party?" Livio's voice called as he and his sister appeared in the room. "Sophia! Livio!" Amato stated cheerfully. "Come join us!" The twins chorused, delighted when the other pair of siblings faded into mist before appearing on the bed this time.

"What're you weaklings doing?" A voice cut in. "None of us could extremely sleep!" Sandro exclaimed, immediately followed by a chorus of 'shhhhh!' from the other children. He at least had the decency to look sheepish a moment. "Morons." He muttered before turning and closing the door. He then joined the others on the bed, albeit he was sitting on the edge.

The group of children happily talked amongst each other. It was only when several pairs of feet could be heard running that they stopped. The sound of doors being opened caught their attention. "Are we in trouble?" Nevio asked, right before the door to the twins' room was shoved open. "Thank God. They're in here!" One of the nannies hollered to whoever she was with.

"Are you all unharmed?" She asked frantically as she rushed over, scanning them with her eyes. "Uh-huh." "What's going on?" Nevio asked, thumb in his mouth. "Listen to me very carefully, all of you. I need you to get to safety. An enemy Famiglia has breached our security and we have to get you out of here." She stated, not giving them a chance to argue as she began pulling them off the bed before they could move. "You know the way?" She asked, speed walking with them to the door.

They nodded.

"Alright, good. Hurry now, all of you! Hurry!" She shooed, watching as they took off down the hallway. She watched them turn the corner before resigning herself to her fate. Stepping back inside the room, she pulled the door almost closed before rushing to the darkest corner of the room, lying in wait for her target.

The kids were running like madmen through the manor, ignoring the sounds of gunfire, breaking furniture, the screams of the dying and various weapons clashing. The only thing they were focused on was making sure they all got to the secret passage. They pushed and pulled at each other, making sure no one fell too far behind.

"We just have to wait until Papa and the others arrive to come save us." Sophia muttered, though whether it was to herself or the others, none were sure. "There it is!" Masato exclaimed, pushing the door open and rushing inside with the others on his heel. "Hurry, hurry!" Ambra urged as everyone piled inside.

Sophia was running with a hold on Nevio's hand. Just then, the toddler tripped and let go of the girl's hand, causing her to stumble ahead. Sophia turned around and was starting to come to his aid when a figure came into the doorway and blocked it.

"Ow..." Nevio whined, trying to get up. Sophia rushed for him, but she wasn't fast enough.

Silence filled the air following the loud bang. Nevio fell to the floor limp as blood began to pour from the wound on the back of his head. The little girl shook, shaking her head in denial before rage engulfed her and she summoned a trident from the mist. With a cry of rage, she charged the attacker. He side-stepped her jab, and intended to shoot her, but missed, leaving a scrap across her cheek. Growling in annoyance at not being able to land a hit, she threw her trident like a javelin, nailing him in the chest near his clavicle.

A second gunshot rang through the air and Sophia dropped, blood pouring from the hole in her ribcage, the pain causing her to lose her grip on her illusion. Struggling to get up she glared at her attackers as Mist Flame swirled around her hand, beginning to form the weapon once more. The gun was raised once more...

*BANG*

With a thud she dropped to the floor. The half formed trident once again began to dissolve into mist in her limp grasp.

Livio, at seeing his sister murdered, was furious. With an enraged shout, he summoned his trident, identical to his sister's. "Hehe, think that's gonna work?" Livio gave no answer, simply jabbing with his trident. The male dodged before countering.

Jerked into action with another gunshot, Dante shoved the twins to the back of the room, followed by Masato. "You have to find the escape hatch before he shoots anyone else!" Dante ordered, kneeling with a hand on the end table as he watched the twins scramble to find their escape. Masato stood a few paces away, watching with growing dread as more men came into the room.

Emilio and Sandro jumped into action with the new entrants. The three oldest paid no heed to the injuries sustained in their life or death battle, simply concentrating on knocking their opponents out and making sure they stayed down.

"I can't find it!" Amato cried, tears of frustration, fear and heartache falling from his eyes. "It has to be here somewhere!" Ambra shouted, anger being the prominent emotion the little girl was feeling.

The shattering of glass caused the four to turn their heads, only to gasp in horror. Sandro lay with his upper half through the balcony window. The others would not have been able to identify him as he was, body covered in cuts, bruises and blood, various limbs twisted at odd angles.

"This isn't good." "Turn your head around and don't look!" Dante stated as he turned his head to stare at the duo. His green eyes were piercing as he stared at them. "We need to get out of here, and you guys are the only ones who can find it." He stated, ever the logical one.

"Hey, I'm gonna go help, ok?" Masato said as he unsheathed the steel blade. "What? NO!" Ambra cried, tears falling faster. "Maa, maa, why are you crying? I'll be fine! I'm just going to help Emilio and Livio!" He grinned, usual cheerful expression on his face even now. The twins gave weak smiles and nodded before getting back to trying to find that elusive panel.

Masato's grin slid off his face as soon as he had his back to his friends. The sword, which was too big for his small frame, felt heavy with the implication of what he was going to do. Focusing on the man about to add Livio to the list of deaths, he charged, sending the blade through the man's leg. He shouted before batting the boy away. Masato flew across the floor, pain racing through him when he stopped and immediately tried getting up again.

"Crap. Livio look out!" Masato shouted, Livio turned from his current attacker and watched as the two impaled each other. What he wasn't prepared for, however, was the chain that wrapped around his neck, cutting off his breathing and digging into his skin. "R...Run..." The boy breathed out as his friends fought their way through the men to try and save him.

It proved to be a fruitless endeavor, as much too soon the chain loosened, the trident finally falling to the ground seconds before its master. Unlike Sophia's, Livio's didn't evaporate, his flame having been strong enough to turn it into a real illusion.

"Shit." Dante cussed. He bit his lip, considering what to do. Glancing around, he saw the dead bodies of his friends and the bodies of the intruders. Emilio was barely slouched and breathing hard, his stubborn nature and willpower being the only things keeping him up. Masato had finally gotten to his feet and grabbed his sword again. With a resigned look on his face, he took a step away from the future Vongola bosses.

Hands clamped around his wrist in a vice-like grip. Turning, he was faced with the terrified expressions of the twins. "Don't go. Please Dante don't go!" Ambra sobbed. "Don't worry." He grinned. "I'm gonna kick their culo*. Have you seen these guys fight? They're useless without me!" He boasted, broad grin on his face. "P-Please be careful." Amato implored. "Of course." Dante nodded, one hand behind his back with his fingers crossed.

Turning on his heel, the boy grabbed a discarded gun before aiming it and pulling the trigger. By now the twins were practically tearing at the wall trying to find the escape switch. Surely it was here!

"Papa...Papa will come and save us!" Ambra stated, glancing at her brother. The brunette turned and nodded his head, sure that their father and uncles were almost home by now.

"Masato!" Dante shouted, watching as the boy received a devastating slash across his chest. Ambra whined, biting her lip and resisting the urge to turn around and watch.

"Stronzo*!" Dante shouted, letting off the last few rounds in the chamber before diving out of the way of throwing knives and picking up another gun. While he was distracted Emilio delivered a hard blow to the man's knee-cap, getting him on the ground and level for the final blow. Not holding back, Emilio dealt the final blow to his skull.

The sound of something connecting with his skull froze the other two children. Emilio staggered forward before turning around, blood falling from his head and blurring his vision. "It's over brat." A knife sailed at him and the boy dodged it easily. This was however, the expected move, and he had no time to dodge the wave of knives that flew at him, embedding themselves into his skin. Stubbornly, Emilio stayed standing, glaring at his assailants with too much hatred for any eight year old to possess, before finally succumbing to his multiple wounds.

"Dammit!" Dante cussed as he watched the boy fall. Gritting his teeth, he fired the gun until it was empty. Hearing the dull clicks, he tossed the weapon before lunging for another, only for the person whose gun he was attempting to take to lurch up, his arm wrapped around Dante's waist, pinning the boy's arms to his side, before he stood up.

"Come on you two! Get out here and I might let your friend live!" The twins gave each other unsure looks, but at the prospect of possibly saving their friend they began to crawl out from under the piece of furniture.

To prove his point, the male held a knife up to the silverette's throat, digging the blade in just enough to draw the slightest hint of blood. "Hurry up before I change my mind!" The adult barked. "Don't! He's just going to do it anyway!" The boy shouted, ignoring the blade that bit into his skin as he shouted. "Heh, yeah, you're right."

With that, Dante's eye's widened a moment before quickly dulling as he fell limp against his attacker. The man cackled as he dropped the flung the child's lifeless boy away like it was a simple rag doll. The gash across Dante's neck continued to pour blood onto the floor as his empty eyes stared ahead at nothing.

"D-Dante..." Amato mumbled. "You-You...YOU MONSTER!" Ambra screeched, tears falling like a waterfall from her eyes. "Now then, you're next kiddies." Turning his head, the male gestured with his head for the swordsman, the one who felled Masato earlier, to come forward and finish the job. A wicked grin split his face before he charged them.

A snap decision had him charging for Ambra, deciding to kill all the next Vongola Boss's future Famiglia first, allowing him to feel the heartache of losing those he loves, before slowly and painfully sending him to meet them.

He was stopped, however, when a blade parried his blow. "The hell are you doing alive?!" He asked, shocked to see the young swordsman, Masato, alive. He was kneeling, unable to stand properly, and the sword in his hand was shaking. He panted, huffing in shaky breaths as he fought against the pain and his body's desire to just stop moving.

"Masato..." Ambra breathed in shock as she wondered why he hadn't just continued to lay still and play dead. If he had, he might have stayed alive until their parents came back! But no, for whatever reason, the young rain was determined to fight against his body and try and protect them.

Gathering his strength, Masato pushed the blade away and stood in a shaky defensive stance. It was a pitiful stance and he was wide open to any attack aimed at his left side. Scoffing at such a weak stance, the man rushed forward, and with a swing that revealed his full power, struck.

The single blow shattered the opposing sword, sending the pieces flying in all directions. He didn't stop there, following through, he sliced deeply into Masato's abdomen, watching in sick delight as the boy's face drained of color before he gave a small cough and blood trailed from his mouth before he dropped like a stone.

Amato was in shock, his hands flexing and unflexing, wanting to do something other than just stay at his side. As the numbness slowly faded Amato was left with pure, undiluted fury. What his friends, his /siblings/ done to deserve such fates? Why did they have to die?! These men... they were at fault. They were the ones who did this! They had to pay!

The boy's hands clenched tightly, and a soft orange glow began to emit from them. As the glow got stronger, he felt his hands begin to get warmer. As a brilliant orange flame wrapped his hands, a burning accompanied it. He was too angry to notice, however, and he lunged at the remaining men, sending a flaming fist into one's face.

Ambra watched with dull eyes as her brother flew across the room at the remaining men. A light glinted at her feet, catching her eyes. Two large pieces of Masato's sword lay at her feet. Reaching down, she grabbed one, feeling the weight of the metal in her hand. She positioned it so the sharp edge was facing towards the outside of her body.

Doing the same to the other, she grasped them tightly, feeling a dull prick as the blades cut into her palms, her blood dripping onto the floor and joining the copious amounts that already lay there.

She wanted to fight too. Sure, he was technically the older of the two, but that didn't mean she wanted him to protect her! She hated being useless. Flame or not, she was fighting.

Racing forward, she slashed at the man's ankle, a hint of satisfaction trickling into her when he gave a curse of pain. She gasped when he brought the sword down. Crossing her arms, the blades formed an X. Ambra felt the shock of the sword hitting her blades before he was thrown away.

Opening her eyes, she saw a white flame dancing on her hands and along the blades. The flame was translucent, with the center of the flame being a more solid white before getting lighter as it reached the ends. It danced wildly in some unseen wind. She could feel it brush against her hands; a cool sensation reminiscent of a breeze kissing her skin.

She didn't dwell on it to long, as the man was back after her again. She dodged every time he came after her, earning more scraps across her body, as her flame apparently came with increased speed.

"Damn you!" He roared, producing a second sword as he began swinging wildly, causing Ambra to pick up her speed as the tips of the blades scraped her skin in several places.

Amato fought passed the burning of his hands, trying to keep control of his flames while fighting the older male. An angered battle cry fell from the child's lips as he poured all his into his attacks. Seeing an opening, Amato focused all his flame into his right hand, slamming it into the male's chest. Amato ignored the small crack upon his fist impacting with the male's chest.

Two swords came rushing down and Ambra leaped backwards. As she sailed backwards, she saw an opening as the male stood up. Taking a chance, she flung both her makeshift weapons and watched as they found their marks in his chest, the power of her flame speeding them up and causing them to bite into his skin deeper.

She smirked in satisfaction before slamming into the wall and gasping in pain. Looking down, she saw the blood covered tip of a blade sticking out of her abdomen. Not feeling pain, she reached her bloodied hand up and fingered the tip, watching as she pricked herself and a small bubble of blood appeared on her fingertip.

Amato collapsed on the ground. His body felt heavy, he didn't have the strength to move, breathing hurt, thinking hurt, even blinking his eyes hurt. His chest heaved, struggling to fill his lungs with much needed oxygen. His hands were killing him, the fire having died out when he hit the ground. Unknown to him, his small body couldn't handle the pressure of his flames, and everything was slowly shutting down on him.

He watched with detached horror as his sister stepped off the blade she'd impaled herself with. Taking a couple steps, she collapsed, her wound finally registering with the rest of her body as it finally caved into her multiple lacerations.

"F-Fratello..." She whined, blood dripping out of her mouth as her and her twin locked gazes. They were only a couple feet away, but it felt like they were at opposite ends of the manor.

Slowly, painfully, Ambra stretched her arm and began to slowly pull herself, inch by inch, to her brother. Flopping onto his side, Amato did the same.

They heaved and panted, struggling with their broken bodies to reach each other. Amato's arms began to shake before he fell to the ground, unable to get up. Tilting his head, he watched, his vision slowly blurring as his sister slowly collapsed, arms under herself as she'd been trying to drag herself the rest of the way.

"Frat-tello..." She whimpered, tears trailing down her eyes as the realization sunk in: they were dying. Amato knew she was scared, he was too. His hand, bleeding broken and burned beyond recognition slowly closed the gap. He offered his sister a weak broken smile.

"Sorella..." He trailed off. His vision was almost completely gone, and he fought to stay awake. Seeing what he was doing, Ambra painfully tugged her arm out from under herself and reached blindly for her brother's hand. Her vision had already failed her, and her other senses were rapidly failing as well. Slowly, with what little sense of touch she had left, she felt her brother's fingers. With what strength she had left, she forced her body the barest distance further, so she could link their fingers together.

Both siblings stared at each other with blind eyes as their breathing came slower, each more shallow than the last. They'd been born together, the least they could do is die together as well. As the thought, a distant, fuzzy echo in the backs of their minds, came, small matching smiled appeared on their faces as they took their last breaths, their unseeing eyes closing.

They'd never had a chance of survival. After the deaths of the young skies, an indigo mist surrounded everything and began to fall away, revealing that the room they were in had been the wrong one. The panel was never there to begin with. From the moment the illusion had been set up before their arrival, their fate was sealed.

"F-fucking brats." Seven heads turned to the source of the voice, one of the men, who looked as if he had gone up against Emilio. "Got what...What they deserved." Giotto, full of turmoil, slowly released his grip on his daughter. Raising his hand and pointing it, palm up, at the injured man, the Boss allowed him to look directly at his cold, heartless gaze. In a flash, one that hadn't even allowed his gloves time to be bathed in his flames, a stream of vibrant orange flames appeared from his gloves and hit the man dead on. Giotto ignored his screams of pain, and seconds later, when he stopped the attack, nothing was left of the man except a smoldering hole in the floor where he'd been standing.

In the weeks that followed, the once vibrant and lively manor fell into a state of despair. There was no more laughter or small talk. The kids' rooms had been sealed away, left how they'd been on the night of their deaths. The guardians and boss spoke only of business, otherwise not a peep was heard.

To those that Giotto was forced to socialize with for the good of Vongola, nothing had changed. He was still charming, gentle and kind-hearted, able to woo any lady he laid eyes on and gain the favor of any don.

Within the safety of the carriage, however, the smiles and laughter stopped completely, replaced with the soul-weary tiredness that had permanently placed itself upon the males' shoulders.

Months later, when Giotto had decided that he could no longer be apart of the same dark world that would heartlessly kill children, he decided he had enough. None wanted to stay in Italy any longer, the memories of their children haunting at every turn. Speaking up, Asari had suggested heading back to his home country.

The issue was not debated except for a questioning look from Giotto. Asari shook his head, and the matter was decided. Soon after, Primo named Ricardo as his heir, and after teaching him how to run the Famiglia Giotto had put so much effort into, they left.

The seven Vongola guardians disappeared off the face of the planet, never to be heard from or seen again.

Mukuo/Livio-7  
>HibariEmilio-8  
>RyoheiSandro-7  
>ChromeSophia-5  
>LamboNevio-3  
>GokuderaDante-6  
>YamamotoMasato-6  
>Tsuna&amp;TsukaAmato&Ambra-6


End file.
